And moulton



(No'Modl.)

N. MOULTON. PROCESS OE MAKING SEAMLESS OPEN BOTTOM UPPERS EOE SHOES N0. 278,305.

Patented May 22,1883.

Mmmm MM/mwmw PATENT OFFICE.

NEWLAND MoULfroN, oE BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

PROCESS OF MAKING SEAMLESS OPEN-BOTTOM UPPERS FOR SHOES.

SPECIFICATION` forming part of Letters I Patent No. 278,305, dated May 22, 1883,

kppncanonaiea Marchemees. (No modem y To all whom fitmag/ concern:

. Beit known that I, NEWLAND MoULroN,of

y. Baltimora in the county of Baltimore and State `of Maryland, have invented certain new and `useful Improvements in a Process of Making u `Seamless Open-Bottom Uppers of Felt or Felt- -ing Material for Shoes or Slippers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,

. lo `which will enable others skilled in the art to "which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, `and to letters of reference marked thereo`n,"`which form a part ot' this sp`eciiication.

. i5 1l y rFigure l represents an upper-blank cut from .a hat; Fig. 2, the same with the heel-corners 11Iolded over;` Fig. 3, the inlayer or cloth;

y Fig. 4, the blank after the overlapping edges lotithe corners have been hardened together; gzoFig. 5, the seamless open-bottom upper.

l This invention relates to a new and imi [proved process of making seamless open-botdm uppers of felt or felting material for shoes r slippers, such as is shown in my United lz SStates Patent No. 275,250. The object is `to cheapen and simplify the method ofmaking articles. y

The invention consists in the y inafter. set forth. y

In carrying out this process the woolor felti`ng material is passed through the cardingmachine, the web coming therefrom being wound to any desired thickness about a drum or cylinder, which is a part of the machine. U .55, The web thus wound is cut on a straight line with themajor axis of the cylinder and opened, forming a dat bat. Before proceeding further it is found advisable in practice to harden this bat slightly; butthis is not essential. By the process hereao l aid of suitable patternsthis bat is cut upintol upper-blanks such as shown in Fig. l. In this blank a slit may be made on the line w a' lfor the ankle-opening, but this is not essential, as the opening can be made as the upper is nished. In practice the edgesb b 'of the corners a a are to be thinned down, so as to be 'adapted to the hardening process, and these corners are `folded on the lines y y, bringing their edges `b b so as to overlap on the longitudinal median line of the blank, as shown in Fig. 2, and along what is commonly known as ening process, the lapping edges b b beingv firmly and neatly joined together without any ridge.` At the same time the whole upper is hardened and the article has the same appearance at all points, the opening being closed up equally as strong and even as any other part ofthe upper. This produces the shape shown in Fig. 4. It is nowin properform to belasted for a shoe or slipper, only it is of a larger size, and is placed iu the felting-mill and properly felted and shrunk to the required size. Then it is drawn upon a last and dried, which causes it to retain 1tsshape. Afterward it is surfaced or sand papered, taken from the last, and the ankleopeniug properly cut, forming the seamless open-bottom upper, shown in Fig. 5, which is .the article sought to be made by this process.

Having thus described my I claim is `The process of forming seamless open-bottom uppersot felt or felting material for shoes or slippers, which consists in cutting from a suitable bat the blank shown, folding the heelcorners, as described, hardening the meeting edges b I) together, and then t'elting the artiinventiou, wh at cle thus formed, as set forth.

Intestimony that I claim the foregoing; as my own I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

*Witnessesz JNO. T. MADDOX, ANTHONY SALMON;

NEWLAND Moor/ron.` 

